# Better Call Saul: Season IV **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 30, 2018, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792 "2018-07-30T04:48:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 54
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1063 "2018-10-05T01:10:55Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Mike’s plan to pay them off didn’t fall apart. She wanted them killed from the get-go, even though Mike assured her they were “solid.” I thought that happened after Mike’s comment on Lydia. I must have seen the episodes out of order on the original run (which is odd, because I’m pretty sure we watched S1-4 on Netflix), because I distinctly remember thinking ‘there has to be a story behind this’ when I heard the statement. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1064 "2018-10-05T23:19:19Z")
I recently watched the _Better Call Saul_ episode of Breaking Bad and it was interesting in light of four seasons of this show. I think Jimmy/Saul is about to go through some dark, dark shit to fully become Saul Goodman. The Jimmy McGill we know wouldn’t casually and repeatedly advise killing Badger as the most logical solution. Something bad is coming and the most obvious casualty is Kim. ---
**Author:** ![soonerblue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soonerblue/32/3302_2.png) [@soonerblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soonerblue)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1065 "2018-10-05T23:44:49Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > While I’m no expert on explosives, I don’t see why there should have been a serious risk involved in just reconnecting the loose wires. The explosives themselves should have been stable in the absence of a detonation current, and Werner was just reconnecting a circuit that had been connected before. The only way the charges should have been capable of going off is if someone flipped the switch up above. And Werner of course would have known this. So it would seem the panic attack may have been due to accumulated stress on Werner rather than actual risk. We lay-people react with our guts, not our heads, we’re conditioned too well from countless similar scenes that almost always end with an explosion. Clever Gilligan was playing on this. The scene was so intense that I actually held my breath… and could’ve sworn that somebody else was down there, gasping. It seemed that Werner thought so too, peeking around corners … turns out it was only him. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1066 "2018-10-05T23:46:25Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I thought that happened after Mike’s comment on Lydia. I must have seen the episodes out of order on the original run (which is odd, because I’m pretty sure we watched S1-4 on Netflix), because I distinctly remember thinking ‘there has to be a story behind this’ when I heard the statement. No, we first see Lydia among the other Madrigal officials in the episode _Madrigal_ when Gus’s relationship with the company is being investigated after he is killed. Then she meets Gus at his diner, where she exasperates him with her efforts to be secretive which just attract more attention to them. He refuses to consider eliminating his guys, as she suggests. Later in the same episode, he discovers she’s offered Chris $30,000 to whack him. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1067 "2018-10-06T00:32:35Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > The approval board’s denial of Jimmy’s reinstatement was wrong. He had knocked it out of the park up until that last question. It’s reasonable to expect that there might be a dozen reasons he would avoid mentioning Chuck- for all they know Jimmy had reconciled his issues with his brother and it was too painful to bring his memory of Chuck into the room, so he gave what they all know was a throwaway answer. To deny him based on that response was unreasonable and petty, and possibly beyond the scope of their powers. I wouldn’t say Jimmy knocked it out of the park; his little lecture on constitutional law (in response to the “how have you been keeping up with the field” question) seemed rehearsed and painfully phony to me. I could imagine it pinging the board members’ bullshit detectors. My take on that scene is that the board wanted some assurance that Jimmy’s document forgery was purely the result of his dysfunctional relationship with Chuck, and not a symptom of general ethical impairment. His refusal to mention Chuck denied them that assurance. Sure, he firmly said “it will never happen again,” but he sidestepped every opportunity to address _why_ it happened in the first place. He should have said something like, “My lousy relationship with my brother, and his animosity toward me, sent me into some dark places. Now that he has passed on, I’ve gotten some perspective, and I don’t recognize the person I was then,” etc., etc. Sure, it would have been bullshit, but it would be the bullshit the board needed to hear. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1068 "2018-10-06T15:27:37Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > My take on that scene is that the board wanted some assurance that Jimmy’s document forgery was purely the result of his dysfunctional relationship with Chuck, and not a symptom of general ethical impairment. His refusal to mention Chuck denied them that assurance. Sure, he firmly said “it will never happen again,” but he sidestepped every opportunity to address _why_ it happened in the first place. I think they also wanted him to mention the name of the victim of the crime he’s claiming to be remorseful for. It’s hard to believe that he’s really repentant if he won’t even say the victim’s name. It’s easy for a viewer to look at this as the end of a long-running feud where both sides have treated the other badly, but that’s not what the panel sees. And it’s easy for a viewer rooting for Jimmy to ignore that the panel is actually correct in finding him insincere, that while he regrets losing his temper and getting in trouble, he really thinks that he was in the right in what he did to Chuck. Also his ‘go land crabs’ answer was just a complete and utter failure. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1069 "2018-10-06T15:38:51Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > I wouldn’t say Jimmy knocked it out of the park; his little lecture on constitutional law (in response to the “how have you been keeping up with the field” question) seemed rehearsed and painfully phony to me. I could imagine it pinging the board members’ bullshit detectors. While it is obviously rehearsed, it’s actually a fairly realistic depiction of how lawyers would talk about a recent precedent which they just read about and have not had occcasion to use, especially if it’s not an area they have recently dealt with General overview, boilerplate talk of the main features of this area and how the case dealt with them. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1070 "2018-10-08T18:51:11Z")
Season Finale Tonight, S4 E10 Winner Jimmy turns the page on his reputation; Lalo tracks a loose end in Gus’ operation; Mike is forced to make a difficult decision. ---
**Author:** ![Panthan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Panthan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panthan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1071 "2018-10-08T19:38:25Z")
Will there be a Gene scene with the season finale? Or is that only on the first episode of the season? I forget. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1072 "2018-10-08T21:13:27Z")
I think it would be too predictable to have Mike kill Werner. I’m hoping the “difficult decision” isn’t exactly as simple as “kill him or don’t kill him”, I hope there is more nuance to it. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1073 "2018-10-08T22:32:33Z")
I’ve said it every season and been wrong, but: I predict we’ll see ASAC Hank Schrader tonight!!! ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1074 "2018-10-09T02:26:57Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > I recently watched the _Better Call Saul_ episode of Breaking Bad and it was interesting in light of four seasons of this show. I think Jimmy/Saul is about to go through some dark, dark shit to fully become Saul Goodman. The Jimmy McGill we know wouldn’t casually and repeatedly advise killing Badger as the most logical solution. Something bad is coming and the most obvious casualty is Kim. He will, sometime in the next few seasons or so. 🙂 I really do like this show but am I a cretan for saying WTF about Saul not being a lawyer for at least another year? I understand why the board dinged him, it’s not that. I wondered during the scene, don’t they know (of the famous lawyer) Chuck McGill, including what finally happened to him, aren’t they going to be put off that Jimmy won’t even mention the name of the victim of his crime given that? I guess they were. I’m sure the show will continue to be worth watching as it meanders on. But wow. And after a brief speed up sequence (in calendar time) earlier this season. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1075 "2018-10-09T03:49:38Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#): > > He will, sometime in the next few seasons or so. 🙂 I really do like this show but am I a cretan for saying WTF about Saul not being a lawyer for at least another year? I’m about to watch the finale, but my prediction is that Jimmy does get reinstated. Guess we’ll see if I’m right in the next hour or so 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1076 "2018-10-09T04:48:10Z")
'sall good, man. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1077 "2018-10-09T05:03:59Z")
After the scene of him crying in the car, Jimmy had me fooled alongside Kim. I really thought he was being sincere during his speech. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1078 "2018-10-09T06:32:12Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > After the scene of him crying in the car, Jimmy had me fooled alongside Kim. I really thought he was being sincere during his speech. Maybe part if him was. But just as quickly he wants to divorce himself if any feelings of tenderness toward his brother. I guess he was burned that badly. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1079 "2018-10-09T06:33:51Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > I’ve said it every season and been wrong, but: I predict we’ll see ASAC Hank Schrader tonight!!! Well at least you’re consistent! ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1080 "2018-10-09T06:48:44Z")
Who paid for the library? Does Jimmy have that much money from selling phones? ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1081 "2018-10-09T13:01:39Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > Maybe part if him was. But just as quickly he wants to divorce himself if any feelings of tenderness toward his brother. I guess he was burned that badly. I think he _was_ sincere at the hearing. The “look at those suckers take the bait” afterwards was the insincere part. As is, probably, his entire tenure as Saul Goodman. Gene at least seems to be back to a normally emotive human, if miserable. I thought Jimmy would have at least kept up the act until he was out of the building though. I cringed the whole time he was talking about the panel eating it up, hook, line and sinker while he was mere steps away from them in the hall. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/1082 "2018-10-09T14:10:20Z")
[Here’s Peter Gould, breaking down the writing process a bit](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/07/arts/television/better-call-saul-writers-room.html), by explaining how they got Huell out of his predicament. “If _we_ can’t figure out how the characters are going to deal with this problem, then maybe the audience can’t either.” I always thought these shows with multi-season story arcs had to have some well-planned outline ahead of time, but it really does seem like Vince and Peter are winging it. I’m surprised at how good a show can be made that way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792.md?page=53) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792.md?page=55)